Second-half goals from Guro Reiten and Ji So-yun ensured Chelsea eased into the FA Cup final with a patient defeat of a toothless Arsenal.
In front of a sold-out crowd at Borehamwood the Gunners struggled to produce a single shot on target, with Chelsea’s defensive solidity allowing them to absorb the early pressure and giving them a platform to build on in the second half.
“It was the first thing we said at the end of the game: ‘I can’t remember a shot on goal,’” the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes, said.
The Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema said: “I think all the goals we give away and the chances we give away were mistakes that we make ourselves. I didn’t think Chelsea were particularly great today. We just made it complicated for ourselves.”
There has been very little to separate the two London teams this season. Chelsea, as FA Cup holders and the league leaders, had the edge over their title rivals going into this match. The Blues dominated from the off in a 3-0 defeat of the Gunners in the 2021 final in December. But despite Arsenal’s league position one point behind Chelsea, Jonas Eidevall’s team have taken four points from their two league meetings – most recently the spoils were shared in a 0-0 draw at Kingsmeadow in February.
In north London it was like time had stood still for more than two months as the game kicked off with the same intensity, and it was Arsenal that began the brighter side with Beth Mead and Stina Blackstenius finding space on the right early on. For the visitors, there was a disconnect with the forward Sam Kerr, who struggled up against the new England captain, Leah Williamson.
“They exploited and got in behind in the first half probably too many times, more than we’d like, but as the game went on we just got stronger and got ourselves organised a bit quicker and a bit better,” Chelsea’s Jess Carter said.
At Wembley in December Eidevall was without the influential centre‑back Williamson but here it was Chelsea who were weakened by the absence of important players. Their captain and centre-back, Magda Eriksson, was deemed only fit enough for the bench. Meanwhile the England international Fran Kirby, whose third‑minute goal and potent partnership with Kerr lit up the final, was ruled out for the foreseeable future by Hayes before the game on Sunday as the hunt for answers to her fatigue problem continues.
Despite the fluidity to their play Arsenal struggled to make it count. A fierce strike from the edge of the box from Miedema that sailed narrowly over the bar highlighted their profligacy and they finished a dominant half on the back foot.
First Miedema gifted the ball to the Chelsea forward Erin Cuthbert before recovering it with a stunning sliding tackle. Then Williamson was at fault, delivering the ball straight to Beth England before dispossessing her international teammate shortly after as Chelsea upped the ante.
At half-time the home side were without a shot on target and their lack of cutting edge would prove to be their undoing.
Within minutes of Mead swivelling in the box and firing agonisingly wide, Reiten floated towards the edge of the D and lifted a curling shot across the goal and into the far corner.
“We should have scored two or three in the first half,” Miedema said. “Then you’ve obviously got a completely different game. We get a big chance in the second half and we also don’t score and then they do. So I just feel like we’ve given it away.”
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Chelsea had a second just after the hour and, despite a defensive mess, Arsenal had cause to feel aggrieved after the full-back Steph Catley recovered possession for the home team but was penalised for handball despite it deflecting off her face.
Millie Bright lofted the resulting free-kick from deep within the Chelsea half to Kerr and the Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy’s clearance fell to Ji, who stepped past Lia Wälti and fired in.
“Once we got the second the game felt easier,” Hayes said. “We were more confident and comfortable. You have to earn that. Our superiority in the second half was due to the character in the team. It’s not easy to keep winning, it really isn’t. I’m never preoccupied with those things. It’s two very, very good teams.”
Chelsea’s win sets up a final against Manchester City, who beat the Blues 3-1 in the Continental League Cup final last month. “The Continental Cup final has been and gone,” Carter said. “Now it’s just about focusing on [this final] and we’ll do the best that we can to come away with the trophy.”
